This disclosure is generally related to drive and directional control devices for vehicles.
This disclosure is generally related to drive and directional control systems for vehicles in general, and more particularly to drive systems and directional control systems for utility vehicles such as, for example, lawn and garden tractors and mowers.
Traditional utility vehicle travel control is accomplished by a combination of driven wheels, steered wheels, a steering control, a transmission control, and a throttle. The operator or user of such a traditional vehicle may first select a forward or reverse gear with the transmission control, then set the throttle to a speed of travel, and then steer the vehicle. This type of vehicle travel control is normally associated with vehicles having a relatively wide turning radius and limited maneuverability in tight quarters.
In an attempt to improve maneuverability, zero turn vehicles, such as zero turn mowers, were introduced. A zero turn style vehicle typically uses independently controlled transaxles or wheel motors to provide steering by selectively speeding up, slowing down, or changing the direction of rotation of the driven wheels on each side of the vehicle. Typically, a user manipulates a pair of levers to control the speed and direction of the output of a transaxle on each side of the vehicle. If the user wishes to move the vehicle forward, he presses both levers forward. If the user wishes to move the vehicle backwards, he pulls the levers back. To steer the vehicle to the left, the right side lever is pushed further than the left, and to execute a very tight turn to the left, the user can pull the left lever back while pressing the right lever forward to execute a zero radius, or near zero radius turn.
The steering wheel method is easy to use but may lack maneuverability and programming flexibility when compared to a joystick control system and the lever activated differential steering systems may simply be more difficult to use for some vehicle operators. This disclosure is directed to addressing the problems and needs of travel control systems in the general area of highly maneuverable utility vehicles.